Facts

THE GAME

Where to watch: FGCU is holding several watch parties, including at Miller's Ale House in Sarasota. Check out TicketSarasota.com for a slide show on 10 top spots to watch the game.

Coming Friday: A closer look at the eclectic collection of players who have come together to lead Florida Gulf Coast. Plus, live reporting from Texas on how the Florida Gators are preparing for this unexpected state rival.

“It's been great . . . amazing . . . historic,” said Hoskinson, who a year ago became director of ticket sales for the Florida Gulf Coast University Athletic Department. “This has given us national attention that no university in the country could have afforded on its own.

“I mean we're already taking deposits on season tickets for next season.”

No matter what happens in Friday night's Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game against the Florida Gators, neither the Florida Gulf Coast athletic program nor the university is likely to be the same.

Already, FGCU is facing a familiar challenge for a college sports team that suddenly finds itself in the national spotlight: trying to retain the coach who took them there. FGCU boosters are trying to raise money to nearly double coach Andy Enfield's salary to $300,000 next year.

They are also trying to raise $1.1 million for a basketball scoreboard. (The current one went down during a game this season, forcing officials to hold up cards showing fans the score.) And there's hope for a sponsorship from a sporting goods company to cover equipment. (FGCU is the only team in the Sweet 16 that buys its own basketball sneakers.)

Beyond athletics, the national spotlight that has shined on FGCU the past week has the chance to transform the university in ways that some might have found unimaginable even a week ago.

“What it means is that we're not a best-kept educational secret anymore,” said Diana Haytko, a professor of marketing at FGCU. “You have a national reputation earned in one weekend.”

Ninety percent of FGCU students come from Florida, most from the five-county region in and around Fort Myers. And in 2010, the university admitted 70 percent of applicants, according to U.S. News and World Report.

University officials have been told to expect a 15 to 20 percent increase in student applications next year. That should allow FGCU to become more selective and to attract out-of-state students, who will pay more and diversify the campus.

Enrollment has steadily been increasing, from 2,584 in the university's first year to the current 13,500.

FGCU has capacity for 20,000 students, said Susan Evans, a vice president and chief of staff for the university.

“Basically, this means everything is going to get better here,” said Peter Cuderman, a graduate student, president of student government and member of the FGCU Board of Trustees. “Better for the students, better for the faculty, better for the university.”

Why would winning a couple of basketball games — granted, some of the most surprising victories in recent college basketball history — have such an impact on the university?

“It a ‘halo effect,' ” said Stuart Van Auken, a professor of marketing at FGCU. “Prospective students generalize the warm feelings they have for the basketball team to the entire university. The team is a great story. That gets them interested in the university.”

And, Van Auken adds, when they look closer at the university, they will find small classes taught by full professors, modern, amenity-filled dormitories that walk out to a lakefront beach and, of course, plenty of sunshine, he predicted. FGCU has a 22-to-1 student-professor ratio and professors focus on teaching, not research. FGCU is unusual among public universities in that it does not offer tenure.

The team's success, Van Auken predicted, could even translate to more support in the Legislature.

“Funding is based in part on student count, so if this increases our enrollment by 3,000 to 4,000 students, you can see the pay-off,” he said. “But even more than that, it puts (FGCU) on the map in the minds of legislators. We've had a lot of good things going on down here. Because of the team's success, we won't be under the radar anymore.”

The ‘Butler Bounce'

When making the case for how success in the NCAA basketball tournament can transform a university, the example most cited is the “Butler Bounce.”

A formerly obscure, commuter college in Indianapolis, Butler made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 2003 and reached the championship game in 2010 and 2011, losing both times.

The school credits the exposure from those games for increasing the number of applications from 3,168 to nearly 10,000. The percentage of out-of-state students increased from 42 to 56 percent. The average ACT score of admitted students rose from 25 to 28 and average GPAs from 3.64 to 3.8.

Butler has added more landscaping, built a student apartment complex and recreational center and is working on a $16 million renovation of its historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The university is seeking a five-fold increase in its endowment, from $150 million to $750 million.

Between money generated from the team, added enrollment, an increase in alumni giving and the public relations benefits of being in the national spotlight, Butler officials estimate the basketball team's success has been worth $1 billion for the university.

“I would wish this on anyone,” said Tom Weede, Butler's vice president for enrollment management. “The lift that it has given the entire university has been absolutely magical.”

Still a long way to go

Florida Gulf Coast still has a ways to go before its basketball program reaches the national stature of Butler or Gonzaga, another small school that this season finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation.

The Eagles' Booster Club has fewer than 1,000 members. Its Alico Arena, opened in 2002, seats 4,500 fans, and has sold out only twice. Even though the Eagles won the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament this season, attendance was not overwhelming, with one regular season game attracting only 652 fans.

FGCU's donor base is also smaller than many universities. Most members of its first graduating class are just 38 years old, meaning FGCU does not have a multi-generational alumni base to cultivate.

But the Eagles' remarkable tournament run, including a victory over national power Georgetown, and the way the Eagles did it, with a cast of smiling, dunking, dancing players, has undeniably captured the nation's attention.

The university this week received more than 100 media interview requests. Unique visitors to the FGCU website increased from 46,000 to 231,000. Sales of T-shirts, hats and other goods at the school bookstore jumped 688 percent.

“We're basically selling everything in the bookstore that is not nailed down,” said Evans.

Even the city of Fort Myers has embraced the university like never before. Known as “The City of Palms,” Fort Myers celebrated a new moniker this week: “Welcome to Dunk City.”

Douglas Harrison, an FGCU English professor and head of the Faculty Senate, said being in the center of “the media vortex” has left “us fairly breathless.” But it has also brought the university together and sparked excitement for the future, which is especially welcome after several years of state budget cuts and struggling to get out the message about what FGCU offers.

One example of FGCU's lack of recognition is that it has only 23 students enrolled this year from the neighboring states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi combined.

“We're proud of what we have here,” Harrison said. “A lot of hard work has gone into this university in a relatively short time. It's been like building an airplane while you're in the air.”

FGCU haters

Harrison uses a different analogy to describe what the basketball team has done for FGCU: “Cinderella going to the ball — and that includes the ugly step-sisters.”

By that, he meant critics who have made fun of FGCU's name (say it fast) and those who have disparaged it as a second-tier commuter school. When FGCU took a stunning lead in its first game, national TV commentator Doug Gottleib said, “Basically, Georgetown is losing to the University of Phoenix by 17.”

But such comments seem outliers.

The Eagles have become the darlings of the tournament. Search the hashtag "#Cinderella” on Twitter, and you will find plenty of references to FGCU, including this tweet by Whitney Jones: "#FGCU is the prime example why March Madness is THE BEST of all sporting events!!! Just a JOY to watch”

At Norman Love Confections in Fort Myers, they have even made a tribute to FGCU, a Cinderella slipper made of chocolate with the Eagles' green and blue colors and basketball pendants, selling for $15.

<p><em>FORT MYERS</em> - As a chorus of phones rang around him and students lined up outside Alico Arena clamoring for tickets, Brian Hoskinson searched for words to describe what fate had bestowed him. </p><div class="art_item art_item_inset art_item_facts">
<h3>Facts</h3>
<h4>THE GAME</h4>
<p><b>The game:</b> Florida Gulf Coast plays the third-seeded Florida Gators at 9:57 p.m. Friday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.<br><br><b>Where to watch:</b> FGCU is holding several watch parties, including at Miller's Ale House in Sarasota. <A HREF="http://www.ticketsarasota.com/2013-03-28/section/dining/sports-bars-wher-you-can-watch-florida-gulf-coast-university-play-in-the-ncaa-tournament/" target="_blank">Check out TicketSarasota.com</a> for a slide show on 10 top spots to watch the game.<br><br><b>Coming Friday:</b> A closer look at the eclectic collection of players who have come together to lead Florida Gulf Coast. Plus, live reporting from Texas on how the Florida Gators are preparing for this unexpected state rival.</p>
</div>
<p>“It's been great . . . amazing . . . historic,” said Hoskinson, who a year ago became director of ticket sales for the Florida Gulf Coast University Athletic Department. “This has given us national attention that no university in the country could have afforded on its own.</p><p>“I mean we're already taking deposits on season tickets <i>for next season.”</i></p><p>No matter what happens in Friday night's Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game against the Florida Gators, neither the Florida Gulf Coast athletic program nor the university is likely to be the same.</p><p>Already, FGCU is facing a familiar challenge for a college sports team that suddenly finds itself in the national spotlight: trying to retain the coach who took them there. FGCU boosters are trying to raise money to nearly double coach Andy Enfield's salary to $300,000 next year.</p><p>They are also trying to raise $1.1 million for a basketball scoreboard. (The current one went down during a game this season, forcing officials to hold up cards showing fans the score.) And there's hope for a sponsorship from a sporting goods company to cover equipment. (FGCU is the only team in the Sweet 16 that buys its own basketball sneakers.)</p><p>Beyond athletics, the national spotlight that has shined on FGCU the past week has the chance to transform the university in ways that some might have found unimaginable even a week ago. </p><p>“What it means is that we're not a best-kept educational secret anymore,” said Diana Haytko, a professor of marketing at FGCU. “You have a national reputation earned in one weekend.”</p><p>Ninety percent of FGCU students come from Florida, most from the five-county region in and around Fort Myers. And in 2010, the university admitted 70 percent of applicants, according to U.S. News and World Report.</p><p>University officials have been told to expect a 15 to 20 percent increase in student applications next year. That should allow FGCU to become more selective and to attract out-of-state students, who will pay more and diversify the campus. </p><p>Enrollment has steadily been increasing, from 2,584 in the university's first year to the current 13,500.</p><p>FGCU has capacity for 20,000 students, said Susan Evans, a vice president and chief of staff for the university. </p><p>“Basically, this means everything is going to get better here,” said Peter Cuderman, a graduate student, president of student government and member of the FGCU Board of Trustees. “Better for the students, better for the faculty, better for the university.” </p><p>Why would winning a couple of basketball games — granted, some of the most surprising victories in recent college basketball history — have such an impact on the university?</p><p>“It a 'halo effect,' ” said Stuart Van Auken, a professor of marketing at FGCU. “Prospective students generalize the warm feelings they have for the basketball team to the entire university. The team is a great story. That gets them interested in the university.”</p><p>And, Van Auken adds, when they look closer at the university, they will find small classes taught by full professors, modern, amenity-filled dormitories that walk out to a lakefront beach and, of course, plenty of sunshine, he predicted. FGCU has a 22-to-1 student-professor ratio and professors focus on teaching, not research. FGCU is unusual among public universities in that it does not offer tenure.</p><p>The team's success, Van Auken predicted, could even translate to more support in the Legislature.</p><p>“Funding is based in part on student count, so if this increases our enrollment by 3,000 to 4,000 students, you can see the pay-off,” he said. “But even more than that, it puts (FGCU) on the map in the minds of legislators. We've had a lot of good things going on down here. Because of the team's success, we won't be under the radar anymore.”</p><p><b>The 'Butler Bounce'</b></p><p>When making the case for how success in the NCAA basketball tournament can transform a university, the example most cited is the “Butler Bounce.”</p><p>A formerly obscure, commuter college in Indianapolis, Butler made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 2003 and reached the championship game in 2010 and 2011, losing both times. </p><p>The school credits the exposure from those games for increasing the number of applications from 3,168 to nearly 10,000. The percentage of out-of-state students increased from 42 to 56 percent. The average ACT score of admitted students rose from 25 to 28 and average GPAs from 3.64 to 3.8.</p><p>Butler has added more landscaping, built a student apartment complex and recreational center and is working on a $16 million renovation of its historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The university is seeking a five-fold increase in its endowment, from $150 million to $750 million.</p><p>Between money generated from the team, added enrollment, an increase in alumni giving and the public relations benefits of being in the national spotlight, Butler officials estimate the basketball team's success has been worth $1 billion for the university.</p><p>“I would wish this on anyone,” said Tom Weede, Butler's vice president for enrollment management. “The lift that it has given the entire university has been absolutely magical.”</p><p><b>Still a long way to go</b></p><p>Florida Gulf Coast still has a ways to go before its basketball program reaches the national stature of Butler or Gonzaga, another small school that this season finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation. </p><p>The Eagles' Booster Club has fewer than 1,000 members. Its Alico Arena, opened in 2002, seats 4,500 fans, and has sold out only twice. Even though the Eagles won the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament this season, attendance was not overwhelming, with one regular season game attracting only 652 fans.</p><p>FGCU's donor base is also smaller than many universities. Most members of its first graduating class are just 38 years old, meaning FGCU does not have a multi-generational alumni base to cultivate.</p><p>But the Eagles' remarkable tournament run, including a victory over national power Georgetown, and the way the Eagles did it, with a cast of smiling, dunking, dancing players, has undeniably captured the nation's attention. </p><p>The university this week received more than 100 media interview requests. Unique visitors to the FGCU website increased from 46,000 to 231,000. Sales of T-shirts, hats and other goods at the school bookstore jumped 688 percent.</p><p>“We're basically selling everything in the bookstore that is not nailed down,” said Evans.</p><p>Even the city of Fort Myers has embraced the university like never before. Known as “The City of Palms,” Fort Myers celebrated a new moniker this week: “Welcome to Dunk City.”</p><p>Douglas Harrison, an FGCU English professor and head of the Faculty Senate, said being in the center of “the media vortex” has left “us fairly breathless.” But it has also brought the university together and sparked excitement for the future, which is especially welcome after several years of state budget cuts and struggling to get out the message about what FGCU offers.</p><p>One example of FGCU's lack of recognition is that it has only 23 students enrolled this year from the neighboring states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi combined.</p><p>“We're proud of what we have here,” Harrison said. “A lot of hard work has gone into this university in a relatively short time. It's been like building an airplane while you're in the air.”</p><p><b>FGCU haters</b></p><p>Harrison uses a different analogy to describe what the basketball team has done for FGCU: “Cinderella going to the ball — and that includes the ugly step-sisters.”</p><p>By that, he meant critics who have made fun of FGCU's name (say it fast) and those who have disparaged it as a second-tier commuter school. When FGCU took a stunning lead in its first game, national TV commentator Doug Gottleib said, “Basically, Georgetown is losing to the University of Phoenix by 17.”</p><p>But such comments seem outliers. </p><p>The Eagles have become the darlings of the tournament. Search the hashtag "#Cinderella” on Twitter, and you will find plenty of references to FGCU, including this tweet by Whitney Jones: <i>"#FGCU is the prime example why March Madness is THE BEST of all sporting events!!! Just a JOY to watch”</i></p><p>At Norman Love Confections in Fort Myers, they have even made a tribute to FGCU, a Cinderella slipper made of chocolate with the Eagles' green and blue colors and basketball pendants, selling for $15.</p><p>The slippers sold out in one day.</p>